BELFAST, Maine — Six local runners qualified individually for this Saturday’s state cross country championship meet, while the Presque Isle boys will make the trip as a team.
The Wildcats’ Isabelle Jackson, Madison Jandreau, Max Bartley and Trace Cyr and Washburn’s Kassandra Farley and Devon Maynard all turned in top-30 performances this past Saturday in Belfast and will compete on the same course this weekend.
In the Class B North meet, the PI boys finished eighth out of 15 teams and that placement allows all their runners to take part in the state meet.
“The kids have been working hard all season and after we were short in numbers last year, from Day One this year’s goal was to qualify,” said coach Evan Graves. “The team aspect was emphasized every day and going into the meet I knew it was going to be close, but every one of the boys did their job that we talked about over the last few weeks.
“They really stepped up and almost all of them ran big personal records,” he added.
The Wildcats scored 186 points to place eighth. They grabbed the final qualifying position by placing 16 points ahead of No. 9 Old Town. Caribou was the champion with 71 points, followed by John Bapst in second and Mount Desert Island in third.
Bartley placed 18th in 18:07.94 on the five-kilometer course, while Cyr was 22nd in 18:14.78.
“Max had a breakout race,” Graves said. “He has been a great leader and his hard work from the summer and fall really showed today.
“Trace lowered his PR and ran such a smart race to help propel the team,” Graves added.
Jonah Clark (44th, 19:12.64), Brandon McKnight (48th, 19:24.89) and Joshua Ashton (62nd, 19:55.78) were the Wildcats other scorers. Owen McQuarrie was 63rd and Ian Hoyt-Franz 74th out of the field of 104.
“The training plan really came together today and this is a step in the right direction for the program,” said Graves, nothing there are no seniors on the roster. “The kids are excited and looking for more improvement, together as a team.”
Two members of the Presque Isle girls’ team will get to compete in the States. Jackson took 16th place in 21:28.6 and Jandreau was 20th in 21:43.58. Seventy eight runners made up the field in Class B girls.
“Isabelle is really coming into her own and it’s exciting to see. I feel like she’s finally tapping into her potential,” said Wildcat coach Mike Waugh. “I’m extremely proud of Maddie, whose knee has been bothering her in the past week. She really ran through some tough pain and persevered to qualify, and it takes a lot of courage to do that.”
In Class C, Farley was 14th in the girls’ meet in 21:49 to meet the standard to make it into this Saturday’s event. In the boys’ race, Maynard was 21st in 18:50. Eighty eight girls and 91 boys participated.
“Both Kassie and Devon have been leading the pack for our team all year long,” said Washburn coach Andy Churchill, “and both have qualified for the state meet throughout their careers.”
